


A Good Start

by Aurrus



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Crossdressing, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-03
Updated: 2014-02-03
Packaged: 2018-01-11 02:20:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1167469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aurrus/pseuds/Aurrus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki likes Tony and thinks Tony doesn't like him back. A happy coincidence he also likes to dress up as a girl - only it's not so happy for Tony, who thinks there's a girl after him when he has his mind firmly set on Loki.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Good Start

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



> This is a birthday present for awesome Generation_Loki! She's the most amazing girl ever, and I can't imagine my life without her now. Happy birthday, darling! You're the best <3

The first time Tony sees Loki – truly sees him, not just acknowledges the fact that there’s a kid named Loki somewhere in their school that he happens to have a lot of classes with – is at History. He’s bored and has nothing better to do than to stare at his classmates for prolonged periods of time – and oh. _Oh_. Hi there; Loki is outright gorgeous – he’s slim and beautiful and is  fully concentrated on the subject, worries his bottom lip in his devotion and furrows his brows just so, and his fingers, long and deft, roll the pen so effortlessly it looks like it’s flying in the air on its own. Tony is stunned for a few moments, but he wouldn’t be Tony if he let it last – so he tears a page out of his notebook and crumples it before throwing it at Loki. It catches his attention, of course; Tony smirks, wide and smug, and wiggles his eyebrows when Loki turns around, frowning slightly – and scoffs once he sees Tony, annoyed.

Because Loki? Loki saw Tony – in the very same sense – the day they met, about two (two years, three months and five days) years ago, and frankly, he still can’t help but continue to see him the same way he did back then.

He knows better than to let it show, though. Tony always gets what he wants, and there’s no way he would want Loki, ergo, Loki would never get _him_ – and that’s the way things are, because Loki, on the opposite, always wants what he can’t have. His father’s love. His brother’s – everything. To be more like him and less like… Loki. To be worthy.

He learned rather early that it’s not how it would be for him, though. He could never do sports, could never be as strong as Thor, could never help that he was more – feminine. He didn’t feel like a… girl, but in the end he did embrace the fact and learnt how to make it work for him just fine.

The thought has been bothering him for quite some time now, but he used to wave it off; never thought about it seriously, and it had to be that blasted crumpled paper (which he couldn’t make himself throw away in the end) that makes something snap in him. It’s one thing to be pining after the most arrogant and popular guy at school; it’s another to become the mocking target for him – and why else would Tony throw things at him? Loki knows that look and knows how it feels to be mocked, and he wouldn’t tolerate it. If nothing else, he would at least have as much fun as he can and mortify Tony in the end, when it would be time for him to find out it’s Loki.

He has always had a knack for wearing dresses, anyway.

~*~*~

When you’re so different from the others, it either destroys you, or teaches you to take the advantage of your difference and have fun meanwhile. When at last Loki realized he’d never compare with Thor neither in masculine looks, nor in strength, he laid curled in his bed late at night, distressed, and mindlessly switched TV channels until he found some old movie with a man pretending to be a woman; he sobered up a little and watched curiously, chuckling at stupid jokes and marveling in the way you could make yourself look unrecognizable with a little to none touches of make-up here and there.

It was just the matter of time after that for the thought to blossom fully in his head and for him to gather enough courage to try.

It turned out he looked damn fine in a dress, and depending on the amount of make-up he could change from a girl version of himself to a completely different person. He always preferred his hair longish, which certainly helped – hairdo can make wonders to someone’s face – and seemed to have a natural understanding of the ways the make-up should be applied to gain a certain effect.

Besides, he really liked it. It took Loki a couple of months to practice and another to get accustomed to the feeling before he sneaked out in a dress for the first time.

He found out he liked – loved – the feeling. It was… freeing; appreciation instead of sneers and compliments instead of hurtful comments on how he looked like a girl; now that he was, everybody looked at him differently.

The victory had only a slightly bitter taste because nobody knew it was him, but he could live with that. Heck, he could even enjoy it for what it was worth.

And then he met Tony, and it all went down to hell. Tony Stark, a womanizer with an impressive collection of broken hearts even at such a young age; all the girls (and some boys as well, not that there was any proof that Tony was interested) swooned after him, all he had to do was to pick out one and then change her for some other when he got bored.

He was the last person one should fall for.

Of course Loki fell for him.

So his little secret hobby had to stop, or at least be treated more carefully – he just knew that Tony would notice him if he were dressed like… that, and, well. Suffice to say that Tony was special – Loki didn’t want Stark to notice him as a girl, he wanted him to notice Loki as Loki, and even if it had never happened, it still would be better than being with somebody who mistook you for someone you were not.

It turned out it was way harder to resist than he originally thought, but Loki was determined not to let his desires take best of him.

And then Tony looked at him – really looked at him – and there was no way he would want Loki back as much as Loki wanted him, so it went down to hell for the second time in two years.

***

The thing is, Tony always gets what he wants, and if he wanted Loki, there was nothing that could stop him – so he has no idea what made him hesitate after that class and let Loki slip away before he had a chance to talk to him. Maybe it’s because Loki is different; Tony always gets a reaction for his troubles when he decides to make advances at somebody, but Loki didn’t react at all – well, other than that scoff of doom, that is.

So while Tony hardly ever needs an excuse to do anything, this time he actually finds out that he does need one to approach Loki; and if there’s one thing that makes a best excuse for pretty much anything and that he’s good at, it’s throwing a party.

Naturally, Loki doesn’t come.

Tony feels sharp disappointment nagging at him once it’s obvious he’s not going to come at all, even if Tony made sure there was no chance Loki didn’t know about the party and that he was invited (he basically announced about it over his shoulder and might’ve even nudged him playfully, but Loki cringed and sneaked away, and it was easier to pretend he wasn’t rejected if he pretended he didn’t touch him at all). So the party is a disaster; well, for him at least, everybody else seems to be enjoying themselves. Tony is ready to get lost when he notices a girl – he hadn’t seen her before, and she looks rather lost, so he sighs and rubs at his face. He may be done with the evening, but he’s nothing if not a good host, so he makes his way to her.

She’s a beautiful thing; tall and slim, if maybe slightly too flat for his usual tastes, with endless legs in high heels and wearing a shirt skirt. He’d call her stunning if he didn’t have his eyes for somebody else. Her black curls frame her face nicely, and she smiles at him when he comes closer.

“Hi,” he extends his hand, and when she offers hers, he takes it to his lips, making the girl’s brows lift in clear amusement. Tony smirks. “Can I help you?”

“I don’t think so,” she shrugs; her voice is low and soft, and Tony decides he likes it. “I was just wondering what I am doing here. I’m not exactly the partying type.”

“Which would explain why I had never seen you here before,” Tony replies, smooth, and once again gets a slightly exasperated look for his troubles. He smirks, leaning at the counter behind him and watching the crowd gathered in the living room. “To be honest, I’ve been thinking about the same just now.”

“You’re the host; aren’t you supposed to be having the most fun?” she tilts her head, eyeing him curiously, and Tony rolls his shoulder.

“Please,” he snorts. “Throwing parties can be fun, but it’s also a pain in the ass. I mean, just think about all the cleanup.”

She snickers, and Tony feels himself smiling back.

“Besides, I do have a reputation to maintain.”

“Oh, are you going to tell me you’re different, now?” she quips, raising one perfect eyebrow, and grins; she doesn’t mean it to be offensive, it’s clear that she is flirting, but that kills the smile on Tony’s face.

While she’s gorgeous, he just… Doesn’t feel that way now.

“Oh, but I am,” he still answers back, playfully serious. “Trust me, everything you probably know about me is just a façade, deep down inside I’m a completely different guy.”

“And will you tell me the same story in the morning?” she sways towards him and almost purrs; Tony leans back and clears his throat.

“Um, what’s your name again, by the way? Not sure I…”

“I didn’t say it. I’m Laura,” and maybe Tony sees things, but for a second she looks almost uncertain; which, yeah, considering it must be obvious he – Tony Stark, who is always a sure go if you’re a stunning girl – is rejecting her, is probably confusing.

“Yeah, Laura – that’s a beautiful name – no. But I’m certain I know somebody who would love to tell you anything you’d want to hear and will stay the very same guy in the morning,” he takes her hand in his – she flinches a little at the sudden action – and tugs her across the room to meet Steve, who blushes just at the sight of his friend with a girl in tow, because he knows what it means. Tony has been trying to set him up for ages; and it’s not even that he minds – but Steve, perfect Steve with a glass of juice amongst drinking people, is always too shy or too good for the others. Still, who knows, maybe this time it would…

No, it wouldn’t work, if the incredulous look on Laura’s face is any indication. Tony mutters the ‘have you met Steve? Steve, this is Laura, Laura, this is Steve, have fun’ anyway and then finally gets lost.

~*~*~

“You weren’t at the party,” is the first thing Loki hears during the lunch break. He flips through the pages of his book lazily, refusing to pay attention to Tony’s accusing stare right away, even if his heart starts beating a little faster.

“You’re right,” he lies. “How very observant. So what?”

Despite everything, he’s mad at Tony – for trying to set him up with Rogers most of all. He can’t let it show, though; it would be suspicious – because he doesn’t have reasons to be mad at him.

Tony is silent long enough for Loki to finally look at him; and it’s maybe the first time they speak – well, at least as Tony and Loki, Laura doesn’t count – and Tony is sitting on the edge of his desk, frowning slightly, and something flips in his stomach.

“Why?” Tony finally asks.

_I’m not the partying type._

“I don’t like parties. Why do you care?”

It would be a perfect moment for Tony to ask him out- but of course the bell goes off, and just like that their conversation ends.

Tony decides he will wait for Loki after classes, then – the idea of asking him out suddenly seems really appealing, so he does just that, wandering in front of school after the classes have finished.

That’s the next time Tony sees Laura – as striking as she was the first time they met, and maybe if Loki rejects him, he would make a move at her, after all. She turns, flipping her hair back, and catches his stare; it’s too late to pretend he didn’t notice her, so Tony smiles and waves, nodding in greeting. He knows the look she gives him, though; it supposes he would follow her, but he is really determined to talk to Loki, so he turns away and pretends he doesn’t understand.

From the corner of his eye he sees her pout, and that’s one of the most adorable things he’s ever seen, but still makes no move to follow her. Laura leaves, clearly annoyed.

He waits for Loki for almost three hours before it’s clear he managed to miss him somehow. Tony feels sour and disappointed, but his determination is still strong.

~*~*~

It doesn’t take a lot of efforts to talk Thor into throwing a party; the idea is brilliant – Loki would make an appearance if the party takes place in his home, right? He’d have no other choice.

Obviously, Tony is wrong, and Loki is not there. Laura, however, is; her delicate fingers wrapped around the glass of red wine and her face tremendously bored – but she lightens up immediately as she notices Tony.

“Tony,” she calls as she walks towards him from the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of beer with her to offer to him. Tony almost loves her at the moment. “Didn’t expect to see you here, ‘different’ guy,” she teases, and Tony chuckles.

“The cleanup is not on me, so I can enjoy this one more,” he says, plopping down on the couch. Laura graciously sits down beside him. “What about you, miss-I’m-not-the-partying-type?”

“We haven’t had the chance to know each other better,” she smiles and bats her long lashes. “I figured you’d have to maintain your reputation and will be here, so…”

So she’s after him, as if it wasn’t obvious already. Tony smiles tightly and nods.

“Yeah… Listen, I have to find somebody, and then I’ll be right back, okay?” And he runs away without even waiting for her reply, fully intent on asking Thor about Loki’s whereabouts and leaving for good if he’s not going to make it here tonight.

Loki grimaces after him and then shakes his head, smiling sadly. Well, isn’t it ironic? Tony wouldn’t want him even when he’s like this; all the time spent… And he was worried about it before. What a fool he is.

“Hey,” a soft voice calls from behind, and he has a ‘fuck off’ on his tongue before he sees it’s Steve. Steve is… well, nice; he doesn’t deserve such a rude rejection. “You alright?”

“No,” Loki says honestly after a moment and runs his fingers through his hair. “Listen, Steve, you’re a nice guy, but…”

“Oh, no,” Steve laughs, smiling. “I wasn’t going to – not that I mean you’re not – uh – it’s just, I see you’re after… somebody else, and I wasn’t –“

It’s Loki’s turn to laugh at the blushing boy. Rogers managed to make himself uncomfortable to the point he clearly wishes the ground could swallow him whole, so Loki pats the free place beside him. Steve breathes out a relieved ‘thanks’ and gingerly sits at the edge, still bright red.

“What I meant was… Uh. You know. If you need a friend…”

“Thank you,” Loki says and means it – it’s really a nice offer. “I appreciate it, though you don’t even know anything about me.”

“I know that you’re a good person,” Steve shrugs and gives him a little smile.

Loki narrows his eyes.

“As long as you know, I may very well be another guy in drag,” he says, waiting for Steve’s reaction.

There is none.

“I don’t care,” he says simply and smiles at Loki’s shocked expression. “Why should it matter? Your biological gender isn’t –”

“I don’t _feel_ like a girl, I just dress as one,” Loki snaps, and quickly adds, “if. I mean, if I’m a guy in drag.”

“Of course,” by the way Steve looks at him, with sparkles of mirth in his eyes, it’s clear that he’s having none of that bullshit. Loki remembers from their brief conversation at Tony’s party that he is an artist; maybe he has an eye for such things – it’s next to impossible, but he’s paranoid, and he picks at the fabric of his skirt anxiously. Steve merely chuckles.

Loki would’ve never thought the guy had it in him.

“You make this stupid joke a gossip…”

“I would never,” Rogers gasps, though it’s more theatrical than anything else. Despite himself, Loki finds that he likes him. A pity he has so stupidly fallen for Tony already. “Come on, you’re my last chance.”

That catches his attention.

“What?”

“I said, you’re my last chance,” Steve patiently explains, though he’s smiling. He leans closer, conspiratorially. “Tony keeps trying to set me up with somebody, and if you were around – it would be, you know – nice?”

“It doesn’t bother you that I’m after Tony?” Loki tilts his head, amused by the offer. Steve shrugs – again.

“Just as a – friend. I mean, come on, we could probably both get something from it, don’t you agree?”

Loki does.

Tony makes no sign of returning, so he spends the rest of the evening with Steve, who turns out to be a really good guy, and after a few more glasses of wine Loki ends up telling him everything, sobbing on his shoulder and punching him in the side in turns, threating to strangle him if he ever as much as _thinks_ about telling a single word of this to anyone else.

Steve promises he would never, and Loki trusts him.

~*~*~

They continue to meet like this, usually at the parties (it’s not like Loki has a lot of other opportunities to dress up in front of Tony), for quite some time, with Laura flirting and Tony flirting back, but always dismissing her before it can become something interesting.

“Dance with me,” Laura demands, already putting Tony’s hands on her hips and swaying in most provocative manner. Tony blinks, not getting what’s happening at first, though he obediently moves to the music.

Laura looks good – she looks fucking amazing, but if she turns her head just so, in the dim light and with shadows hiding most of her face, and especially if he looks at her when she turns her back to him and imagines her in jeans instead of a short skirt – it’s really easy to mistake her for somebody else, and he would be damned if he let their similarity take the best of him.

“Look, Laura, I like you,” he starts, and she stops abruptly, glaring at him.

“Of all the girls you’ve dated – what makes me so _special_ , Stark? Am I that awful?” she hisses, and Tony quickly raises his arms in defense. “I thought you liked straightforwardness, don’t you?”

“Hey, no, it’s not –”

“I swear, Stark, if you say ‘it’s not you’ –”

Tony has to shut his mouth, because, frankly, that’s exactly what he was going to say. And really, how bad is it to ditch a girl – a determined girl – because he has feelings for somebody else? He’s almost sure he’s going to end up with a scratched face anyway; the question is only how bad it’s going to be.

“Listen, it’s complicated,” he tries again, and, wow. The glare is even worse now; he didn’t think it was possible a couple of seconds ago.

“Is it because –”

“Hey, I know I’m a douchebag and have a certain reputation, but listen this out before accusing me of anything, will you, baby doll?” he finally snaps, and it must be unexpected enough for Laura to let him lead her away from the crowded room and to the small empty balcony.

She runs her fingers through her hair and leans on the railing.

“Speak,” she says – orders, and Tony shakes his head. It’s a misfortune, really, that he’s such a stubborn asshole and once he has set his mind on something, he wouldn’t calm down until he gets it, and this time his mind is firmly set on Loki.

“Okay, I know, it would probably sound weird, but… I, uh. Really like somebody, and I really want to try to make it work.”

Laura laughs – it’s a bitter sound, and he wants to reach his hand and touch her shoulder, but doesn’t dare.

“I knew it,” she says calmly. “I had to – when it’s the first time infamous Tony Stark fell for somebody himself. Well, isn’t she a lucky girl.”

“He,” Tony corrects absently, and she stills. “And he doesn’t even notice me, if it would make it better.”

“Spare me,” she snaps, even more annoyed than before – Tony feels a little bit hurt, because, hey, seriously? Is it going to be a problem? Then he doesn’t want anything to do with this girl – and tries to move past him, but he’s not done, even if he doesn’t want to talk anymore.

“The thing is, the more I see you, the more you – um, well, how do I put it… you really look like him sometimes. It wouldn’t have been fair to you –”

This time, her face is… confused. She doesn’t look like she’s disapproving because it’s a guy they are talking about, and Tony is relieved; he really doesn’t want to think of Laura like that, because she seems to be a nice girl, if little bit _too_ straightforward, just as she said, but –

“Who is it?” she demands, and Tony cringes a little.

“You probably don’t know him. A guy from my class, I keep trying to ask him out, but he either doesn’t get it, or isn’t interested… I told him about this party, just like I did with at least a dozen of other parties, but he won’t come. He never does.”

He doesn’t want to sound plaintive, but he probably does, and now Laura looks at him really weirdly. He waves it off.

“Want me to walk you home? Or would you like to stay? Because I probably won’t, but –”

“What if – what if you’re wrong?”

Tony snaps his head to look at her, raising an eyebrow.

“Huh?”

She looks unsure and a little bit nervous, biting her lips and not looking him in eyes; Tony frowns.

“Laura?”

“I should go,” she says and makes a beeline to the door before he has a chance to stop her.

~*~*~

“What’s wrong?”

Steve is – perfect, Loki thinks desperately, as he slams the passenger door behind himself and takes a deep breath. He hardly waited any time at all before Steve was there; he can’t be more glad to have a friend like Steve.

“Tony is – he said he is –”

“Did he do anything?” there’s an honest worry in Steve’s voice, and Loki is almost sure he’d have to nod only once for Steve to go there and punch Tony in his face. Maybe he won’t beat him up or even break his nose – they’re still friends – but he would certainly protect Loki’s virtue. Loki chuckles, reaching into the glove to get some tissues he can wipe his face with, getting rid of a heavy make-up.

“No,” he finally rasps. “Quite… the other way round.”

Steve waits, patiently, until Loki changes in the back of his car before he continues.

“He said – he… more or less admitted that he was trying to ask _me_ out,” he finally whispers, shaking his head. “Me as in – Loki, not Laura. That he liked _her_ , but that she looked too much like a guy he was after, and then he said he… he was really talking about me, I just – I know.”

There’s a small chance, of course, that he’s mistaken and Tony was speaking of somebody else, but with his luck, it was probably him – only he could’ve mistaken an honest attention for mocking and then decided that Tony didn’t want him at all to the point where he was almost ready to give up.

Steve smiles at him – it’s not a sympathetic scowl he might’ve expected, it’s something… happy and playful, and Loki frowns.

“What?”

“That’s what I was going to ask – what are you waiting for?”

Loki blinks at him.

“Well, he’s waiting for you, and here you are; why not –”

“Did you miss the part where I dressed in drag to fool him?” he hisses, but Steve just pushes him and motions at the house he has just left.

“Did _you_ miss the part where he ditched a stunning girl because he likes _you?_ ” he countered and chuckled at Loki’s scandalized look. “Go get the man, Lokes.”

Loki glares at him, but it’s half-hearted at best.

“If it goes wrong,” he warns, already pushing the door open, “I’m going to hook up with you.”

“You couldn’t have come with a worse threat,” Steve jokes. “Go, now.”

“Don’t you dare touch my clothes!”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Steve calls from the opened window and takes off before Loki has a chance to chicken out. He would still pick him up if Loki changes his mind, of course, but he doesn’t have time for that – he’s still glaring at the retreating car when a voice calls after him.

“Loki?”

His heart does that thing it always does when Tony says his name, and he takes a deep breath.

“Yes?” he turns around at last; sure enough, Tony is there – obviously leaving, a mix of disbelief and something akin to hope on his face.

“Thought you weren’t coming,” he says, grinning, and takes a step closer.

Loki shrugs, faking disinterest.

“I’m fed up with you trying to drag me at these awful parties,” he sneers. “Figured that if I actually showed at least once, maybe you’d stop?”

“Who knows?” Tony asks rhetorically and takes another step to him. “Well, if you don’t like parties that much, and I was just leaving myself, maybe I could make it worth your time by some other means? How does a late dinner sound?”

“You’d better,” Loki huffs, walking the rest of the way between them, the worry still tight in his stomach, but leaving with the way Tony looks at him – hopefully and unsure. “And yes. It sounds good enough.”

Tony lightens up and immediately starts rambling, leading the way; Loki smiles gingerly, chuckling at his jokes, and marvels at the thought that they have a – date. They still have a lot to discuss, and it’s too early to get his hopes high, but still.

A date is really a good start.

The best one.


End file.
